It felt a little like a dream, Sookie thought as she walked back down the stairs. Or a nightmare, more likely. One minute he was corporeal, standing right before her very eyes, and then he was gone in a blinding show of light. She felt dazed with the whole scenario. She hadn't known Godric for very long, a matter of days really, but in that short period of time he managed to save her life countless times. And for that, she was eternally grateful to him. His impact on her short human life was brief but undeniable.

Bill stayed up for her, waited for her in the room where just an hour ago there were so many congregated. He was seated in an armchair near the fireplace and was visibly tired, yet he waited still. She made to move towards him but stopped short at the sound of glass crunching beneath her shoe and it was only then she noticed the room looked different now.

"Oh mah word," she breathed.

The place was trashed. It looked like a hurricane blew through what was once a nice, accommodating, hotel room. Couches and chairs were overturned. Wooden tables flipped and broken to bits. The glass she stepped on was the broken pieces of a light bulb from a nearby lamp that had been knocked over. Even the vases and candlesticks had not escaped the scrimmage. The state of the room served to shake some of the glaze from her eyes.

"What happened?" she asked Bill.

"Eric."

Oh. And suddenly it all made sense. It seemed like ages ago she was furious with the vampire for deceiving her into drinking some of his blood and meddling in her relationship with Bill. She tried to feel that again, to bring that anger to the surface, and failed. Nothing could mask the massive loss she felt that was brought on by Godric's death. Sookie tried to imagine how Eric was feeling now and her sorrow was magnified tenfold. Her legs shook and she hastily made her way to the nearest overturned chair before quickly up righting it and collapsing onto it. She wasn't sobbing, or crying, but her chest heaved with great effort as she attempted to take a breath that didn't get caught in her throat. She was choking on air and in the back of her mind dimly registered what was an oncoming panic attack but she hardly cared. And then, in a flash, Bill was next to her and comforting her and his presence was the only thing that made any sense so she grasped it and held onto it tighter than ever before.

"Sookie," he whispered and she shook her head at him, clinging to him.

"Sookie," he tried again.

"I'm…okay," she rasped and coughed. Pulling away and wiping her face, she looked up at him and gasped.

"Oh mah god Bill, I'm so sorry. You must be exhausted!"

"Just wanted to make sure you'll be alright first."

He looked at her with all the concern and love he felt for her and for once it made her feel awful. Here she was having some kind of belated nervous breakdown and taking up even more of his energy when he should be resting. They had all had a difficult couple of days. Her guilt sobered her up and she rushed to reassure him of her well being.

"I'm fine. Godric is," her voice cracked on the last word, "gone."

"Get some sleep," Sookie continued, "I'll be… here."

She waved her hand nonchalantly about the room to indicate she wasn't going anywhere but faltered once she caught sight of the disarray. She frowned.

"You will not be joining me?" her boyfriend inquired.

"Ah don't feel like sleeping much Bill. I think I'll tidy up a bit and then maybe watch some TV…or see what Jason is up to," she finished as she remembered her brother was with them too. For once he was with them, not against them, and that brought a small wistful smile to her face.

"Sleep well Bill."

He nodded and with a chaste kiss, retreated to the bedroom, leaving Sookie to her own defenses. She sat there for a few moments, just staring blankly in the direction he had disappeared, marveling not for the first time the speed with which vampires were able to move.

Shaking herself from her stupor, she sighed as she looked about the room. Eric had been nothing but thorough in his destruction of the place, she thought sadly. Before the rush of emotion could take hold of her again, she jumped from her chair and began righting things. After her gran died she didn't know what to do with herself, so she set about scrubbing down and cleaning the whole house. It helped to distract her from her feelings of loss and desperation back then and it would do the same for her now, until she could open the flood gates without having the whole flood rush in on her at once.

For the next couple of hours she righted chairs, tables, and couches. She found a broom and a dust pan then took whole heartedly to removing every bit of broken glass and porcelain from the pristine carpet. She fumed silently when she found a Handy Vac and rued the discovery because if she had only found it earlier the job would have been much easier. By the time she was done she was sweating slightly and panting but it felt damn good and threw herself onto a couch with relief. It just happened to be facing an open window. The sun was still out; it would be a few more hours yet before Bill was up. If Sookie had been anyone else, she may have started to cry again, but the hysteria had ebbed away and it wasn't like her to indulge it again. No, she was far too headstrong for that, but she would be lying if she didn't admit that it hurt to see the sun out, to see it shining down on the people going about their lives below, oblivious to how lucky they were. She had always considered herself a creature of the light. How bizarre that by association she become shrouded in such darkness. She stayed that way for a long time, wondering what the night would bring.